Drilling
Ultra-Deep Gas Prospects on the
Horn, Brian W.1, David G.
Derbecker1, Sophie Hildebrand1, Dean Chergotis1,
Kevin Vorhaben1, Debbie Grove1 (1) BP,
Recent exploration focus on ultra-deep
gas reservoirs has created several new challenges in the pursuit of ‘giant' gas
fields in offshore
The presence of shallow (14,000-17,000
ft) depleted reservoirs presents a significant risk in drilling ultra high
temperature and pressure wells to depths of 30,000 feet. Production data from
the field demonstrates that multiple horizons are depleted with pressures less
than 1000 psi. The presence of these depleted zones requires a detailed reservoir
characterization study integrating original well data with recent 3D seismic to
create a present-day (4D) evaluation of the field. Integration of these data
from the overlying field (top-down analysis) is coupled with exploration bottom
hole location requirements (bottoms-up analysis) to
increase the successful execution of drilling a frontier exploration well.
AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California